University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Can Count On Marquez Bembry's Veteran Presence
12/2/2022 2:18:00 PM | Football
Not many people had faith in linebacker Marquez Bembry. Instead, he had to have faith in himself.
"I've been down bad plenty of times in my career in football as far as injuries. But, the faith really showed itself when I hit the portal and I wasn't really getting a lot of contacts from schools. I was getting FCS offers. But, I took two days where I really just sat back and told God, 'You take control. I'm taking my hands off. I want you to put your hands on the wheel and I want to be in the passenger seat while you drive. Ever since that day, I really put my faith in God to lead me," said Bembry.
In 2022, the game of football has become far more than what's produced on the field. Every football program needs a player who is going to instill incredible veteran leadership and provide a symbol of honor for players to look up to. For UConn football, that is Marquez Bembry and the graduate linebacker has really taken on a leadership role this season to help mentor his teammates. He's helped players like Ian Swenson, his current roommate at UConn, blossom into a phenomenal leader for this program and carve out a core part of his legacy with the Huskies. That bond was created through long days in the summer months as the pair trained ahead of fall camp and an exciting season. Both pushed each other to their very limits and while the season was truly unpredictable, one moment before the season even began would foreshadow the thrilling 2022 season.
"In the spring, beccause I went to four bowl games and I won all four bowl games, he was looking at the bowl game rings in my room and I just told him, 'You're going to have a chance to get one. Just believe it,' and it's crazy cause talking about it in the spring, now we're at that point. All it took was the belief factor," said Bembry.
Throughout his life, the growth that the UConn linebacker has demonstrated is inspiring to anyone who meets him. Bembry's journey has been nothing short of remarkable and it helps give background to the astonishing character he projects on a daily basis. It's helped him overcome the insurmountable challenges of a career that has seen plenty of hurdles thrown at him. He's had his fair share of injuries and instead of simply letting them tear him apart, he's gotten back up every single time when others expected him to submit to the relentless pain. While his football talent took him far in high school at Mount Vernon Presbyterian High School, his mind took him further. However, injuries are just one part of Bembry's story and while they helped him grow into the man he is today, one of the biggest events of his life was about to occur.
After academic challenges hindered his first college commitment to Tennessee, Bembry was now faced with his biggest football challenge to that point, junior college. It was one of the biggest challenges of his entire life and truly made him question if he wanted to continue playing the game of football. He had to sit down with himself and ask if football was truly the right route to take.
"If I told myself, 'Yes, I see myself doing it,' Alright, let's lock in and let's get to another level so that way you can get where you need to be," said Bembry.
At Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, MI, it was about a 6-hour drive from his Georgia home in the town of Stone Mountain, a population of just 6,614. He was fighting every day for college recruiters to notice him once again and it was a grueling process. Instead of being hindered by a part of his journey that many would have been reluctant to accept, he embraced it with open arms.
"I looked at it as if this was meant for me to be here. Not only that, it gave me an early chance to get on the field with college players," said Bembry. "It was a great chance for me to pick up the speed of the game."
As time progressed, his skills would get even better and those recruiters would come to seek out the skills of Bembry. In the end, after 2 years of grinding through JUCO, he'd sign with the University of Kentucky, a reward for the hard work he'd put in day in and day out with his teammates. Just a few years later, after a few bowl games and memories at Kentucky, he'd find himself in Storrs with the Huskies. Just like he was doing with the Wildcats, Bembry sticks to the journey that made him the incredible person he is today.
UConn head coach Jim Mora, a man who has taught Bembry so much in such a short time, tells his team that it's not the easy road, but it's the hard road that makes players the strongest. For the UConn linebacker, it truly hits home and every day this season, he's gone out of his way to make a positive impact on someone's life. It could be players like freshman Donovan Branch, who initially weren't used to the speed of FBS football but now have Bembry to help him adapt. It could even be Connecticut high school football, which Bembry sought out during the team's bye week.
"I don't really care about holidays or anything like that. Most people will go home, but I choose to stay on campuses and choose to continuously work. There's always somebody else out there that's on holiday that's still working. So, I'm not going to be outworked by any man at all," said Bembry.
It's just another part of his it-factor. He's shown that he's not afraid to be vocal or provide guidance in areas on and off the football field, especially with freshmen. While many upperclassmen may act like they're too good to be a leader to the younger players on their team, Bembry is different and always goes out of his way to help anyone whether it's his freshmen linebackers like Branch or another member of the team.
"I embrace people with open arms because you're coming into a new environment. I want you to feel comfortable being in this environment because I've been in the shoes that you're in," said Bembry.
While it's also one thing to embrace your teammates, it's another to embrace the role that you're given and for Bembry, that role is to be a leader and mentor to those around him. On October 3rd, just two days after the team's upset win over the Fresno State Bulldogs, the UConn linebacker tweeted a photo of himself with the caption, "Being able to come out of this and be able to show how much I've grown will show how much this game really means to me." The background of that message describes why every coach and player looks up to Bembry when he walks in the room and why his voice stands as one of the strongest among a group of talented leaders.
"That was actually during the time when the challenges really started to hit. I wasn't really playing as much as I would like to. Now, this part of this journey is really going to show my true character. Do I be a guy who doesn't want to be at practice, who doesn't want to help support the team or still show the guys that I'm still caring and willing to help this team go to where we wanted to go? That's why I put out the tweet to let it be known. I didn't come to this program to only play, be by myself and be a selfish person. I came here to learn how to be selfless and a leader. With that, I kind of took on a role that I didn't look at taking on, but it took me on and I embraced it. That's being a guy who helped out. When my number was called, I went out there and performed. Other than that, I supported the other guys who were playing no matter what," said Bembry.
